The City of Saskatoon has no plans to raise taxes to cover the construction costs of two new bridges, according to the mayor.
“If the price comes in at what they projected, there will be no mill rate impact for capital costs of this project at all,” said Mayor Don Atchison, passing on a message he received at Monday night’s city council meeting.
The federal and provincial governments announced Monday $116 million in funding for a bridge crossing Saskatoon’s north end and a new traffic bridge in the city’s downtown.
The province committed $50 million to the north commuter portion of the project while $66 million from the federal government’s P3 Canada Fund will contribute to both bridges.
The total project — replacing the Traffic Bridge, building a north commuter bridge and related roadwork — is estimated to cost $250 million. The city will cover a bulk of the bill.
“This opportunity of $116 million from the feds and the province doesn’t come by every day, so I think we need to jump at it when we have the opportunity,” said Atchison.
He wasn’t sure if the operating costs of the new bridges would lead to increased taxes.
“I don’t want to commit to no mill rate increase and I don’t want to commit to a mill rate increase either. We need to leave that part open at this time.”
Saskatoon’s city council approved funding the project under a P3 — public-private partnership— model in March. The project will be the fourth in Saskatchewan under the P3 Canada Fund, according to the city.
Atchison said the city will issue a request for qualifications over the next few weeks before awarding the project to a single contractor sometime next year. The contractor will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project over a 30-year period.
The 107-year-old Traffic Bridge, which connected Victoria Avenue to the city’s downtown, was closed in 2010.
Construction on both bridges is expected to take three years, according to a city media release.
